Eternity Matters: Have You Accepted Your Father’s Love?

June is a month to think of our Fathers. I know a lot of people see Mother’s Day, Father’s Day and Grandparent’s Day as just another Hallmark Day, but I am glad our country celebrates these occasions. I will let you do the full research, but the first idea of this annual celebration came from a woman who was raised by her dad, after her mother died giving her birth. For those of us who respect our parents, we really don’t need a holiday, because it is a daily on-going act of love. One of the 10 commandments is to Love our Mother and our Father, (Exodus Chapter 20) and we are even reminded in the scriptures that if we honor our parents we will have long life. (Ex. 20:12 and Ephesians 6:1-3) I personally had a very close and wonderful relationship with my earthly Father, who to this day I still call daddy, because that is what he was to me. I realize that not every reader has or had a close relationship with their dads, or perhaps the dad left the scene of responsibility and the family. Even more so, I hope that these readers will realize the love of a Father. PLEASE hear me out, for it is SO important for you to know that God’s intention for the earthly dad, was to reflect HIS image in all that he does. To love, to correct, to protect, to provide and to have a close bond with his child. Most of us know the story of the Prodigal, showing the beauty of a Father’s Love for his son, in the act of showering him with forgiveness, giving him the best and providing him with shelter, acceptance and love, even after the son had been disrespectful. (Luke Chapter 15). This story is a reflection, of how God wants us to see and accept His love. Taking it a step further, He promised to be a Father to the fatherless, to all who will allow Him in. (Psalm 68: 5-6.) This year will be the first year my three children will experience the traditional Father’s Day, knowing their dad is no longer on the earth. Although they each live in different states, they were all use to celebrating it in their own way, be it a call, a card, a note, a gift, & at times a visit, but they always honored him in some way. Was he a perfect dad on earth? We can all say we had the perfect dad, but all human dads error; they make mistakes. Yes, there are great, great memories, but with all being human, there are also disappointing times. Why am I sharing this; not to dishonor my beloved, or the daddy of my children, but to make each of you realize that we all can have the PERFECT FATHER. The Father who knows what you need before you ask. (Matthew 6:8) The Father who loved you SO much that HE HIMSELF came to earth for 33 years in the form of HIS only Son Jesus, who took on the wrongs of humankind, to make a perfect way, so that one day when our time on earth is done, we can live eternally with the perfect Father. Not everyone will experience that opportunity, because they choose to reject it. On this Father’s Day, my prayer is that you know, that God wants to adopt you as HIS very own!(Ephesians 1:5 and2nd Corinthians 6:18.) May each of us celebrate the day with an attitude of thanking God for our earthly dads, while looking to our eternal Father, who is the one who gave us true life. Matthew 23:9 says, “call no man your father upon the earth: for One is your Father, which is in heaven.” Eternity Matters!